Find Long-term Financing For Farmers to Expand Production; Asantehene to Trades Minister

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has counselled the minister for Trade and Agribusiness, Hon Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare to focus on assisting local farmers with the needed funds to expand production.

The King who owns the Bodukwan Multi-fruit Company Limited says Ghana is bedevilled with a major challenge that has to do with insufficient available raw material to feed industries the few industries.

This, he indicated, had not received much attention, as he recounted the hurdles his fruit processing factory goes through to get the needed quantity of raw materials to meet plant’s capacity.

“We lack the raw materials to feed industries. It is vain to have industries and yet have no raw material to feed it. I have a farm that produces to feed my factory but it is not enough so we depend on other farmers to meet the capacity. That is also a big challenge… We sometimes have to drive all the way to Volta seeking pineapples to feed my industry.

The King therefore pointed to resourcing of farmers to expand local production as key while intimating that majority of imports can be gotten locally if the needful is done.

“There are a lot of things that are imported into the country which shouldn’t be…We have the industry but there isn’t raw materials to feed them.”

Long-term Financing
Otumfuo suggested the Minister assist farmers with securing long-term financing to expand their production in the country.

According to him, local production of raw materials must be made principal to industrialisation.

“Let’s find a long-term facility for the agric sector. The banks are unwilling to give them the loans needed due to the nature of their work. They are unwilling to give loans to farmers as they know they can’t pay back within two years. They will rather give it to those into importation.”

Industrial City Project
The Minister for Trade and Agribusiness, was at the Manhyia Palace on March 14, 2025, to formally introduced herself to the King.

Accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr Noah Tumfo, and other officials, she highlighted a lingering litigation over the designated land for the Greater Kumasi Industrial Park and Special Economic Zone Project in the Ejisu Municipality as an obstacle to the commencement of the first phase of project which is being funded by a $30 million facility from the World Bank.

The landmark project which the Ministry of Trade and Industry has initiated with the support of the World Bank in full will cover a total of 3,388.2 acres of land in the Ashanti Region.

The first phase of the Project is estimated to occupy 597 acres of the entire tract of land that was given to the state by the King with the construction of offsite public infrastructure.

Challenges
In her submission Hon Agyare said she had received proposals for investment from the private sector and development partners to establish more multipurpose and special-purpose industrial parks in the Special Economic Zone for massive industrialisation.

However, she said the challenge had to do with compensation issues over the affected lands.

“The World Bank is funding it. It has paid a part of the money to the contractor. In the next two months, the World Bank will cancel the project. We therefore need to race against time to get it started immediately. I implore Otumfuo to intervene.”

She intends to make it her first major project as Minister.

Otumfuo readily accepted her plea for intervention.

“The compensation was disbursed some time ago but some chiefs there failed to allot it to the victims. We will engage them to first find out who squandered the money. For now I will issue an order so the contractor goes to site immediately to start work and then the government pays the compensation later.”

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini